On Purpose (October 14th, 2018) - Paul Whittingstall

It is a privilege to be here.

And this is the first time I have uh preached in this room.

Um, not the first time I preached at the church.

Uh, Sue and I were here a little while ago, and some of you go, where did the rest of you go?

And uh so let me just real quick get that out of the way so you all understand.

If you don't know, um just about a year and three months ago, I had a heart attack and uh gone through a great recovery.

The Lord has been so good.

That's not the message for today, but God has been so good to us and uh just rejoicing in how he's working and leading in our life.

So keep praying for us.

And uh we're thankful to God for what he's done.

Also thankful to God for what he's doing here um in Newmarket to see the church growing and developing, and um we're ready to cut this thing loose.

You just need to know.

Um, and most of that has happened.

The last piece is uh local elders in place, and we've been praying about that.

I know you've been praying about that, and uh, we're looking forward to see how God's provision is going to uh come in that, but uh just uh thankful for uh that reality as well.

Um we pray for you guys on a very regular basis at our nine o'clock uh service, which is now pretty much over in Newmarket.

I mean in York Region, there's a group of people uh down in one of the boardrooms who pray, and they pray for our services and they pray for your services, and uh and so you are very much still a part of our prayer life in uh York region and uh trusting God to continue to do great things uh here, and it's just a privilege for me to be here.

Um, I win this weekend for sure because Mike and I just did a swap, which means he's preaching three times, and I only have to preach once.

And uh so he's gonna find out what it's really like.

And uh, but we're so thankful for Mike and Ange.

Keep praying for them and uh God's working through their lives.

So all right, get your Bibles out, open them up to Ephesians chapter three this morning.

Uh Ephesians chapter three.

We want to talk a little bit about our purpose in life today.

Um, our theme this fall in our church is vertically challenged.

Really, the thought of that is like getting looking up.

Vertically challenged is not a series about small people, okay?

It's a it's or small thinking people.

It's a series about getting our eyes focused in the right direction.

And and one of those things is making sure you have your eyes focused in the right direction on your purpose in life.

I don't know how much time you spend thinking about that.

I spend some time obviously thinking about it, and then uh what's our purpose as a church?

What's my purpose as an individual?

And the reality is sometimes we get it pretty messed up.

Um, I think sometimes we think the purpose of the church is uh to make sure that it keeps growing.

Whatever you need to do, just keep doing what you need so the numbers keep growing up or the offering keeps growing up, or or even as happened in this church last week, uh people trust Jesus Christ as their savior.

Isn't that the purpose of the church?

No, it's not the purpose of the church.

Um it's a good thing.

All of those things are good things, but they're not the purpose of the church.

Uh, what about baptisms?

We're gonna have a baptism service.

Isn't that the purpose to the church?

No, it's not the purpose of the church.

But those are great things, and they're important things, and they're things that we see should be happening in the church, but the purpose of the church is one thing to glorify God.

To glorify God.

See, when you get that right, all the rest of the things you get right.

It's true in your life as well.

We get this messed up, I get it messed up, still get it messed up in my life, and they go, well, what's my purpose in life?

For some of you, your purpose in life is just to make it through till it's over with the same husband or the same wife, not to kill them in the process and just to make it through with them.

That's my purpose in life.

Or your purpose in life is to have our kids grow up and to love Jesus.

That'd be a great purpose, wouldn't it?

No, it's not the right purpose.

It's not the main purpose.

Um, well, I got to have a job.

My purpose in life is to make a lot of money.

I can give a bunch of it to the church if I choose to, but I just want to make a lot of money.

And and and you, by what you do in your life, have already determined that your main purpose in life is your job or your work or your education or your you fill in the blank for what your thing is.

And those things, not necessarily any of them, are wrong in themselves.

You have to have a job.

I need to take care of my wife, and she cares for me.

We love our kids like like crazy, but it's not my main purpose in life.

See, my main purpose in life is to glorify God.

And when I glorify God, when I get that right, then I get the other parts right.

And so that's what we want to talk about today.

We want to talk about it out of Ephesians chapter 3.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

I don't know if you do it here, but we do it in York region.

We stand.

So let's stand together as I read God's word for you, and I'm going to start at verse 7.

Here's what Paul says.

Of this gospel I made I've made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me by the working of his power.

To me, through who, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery, hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I'm suffering for you, which is your glory.

For this reason I bow my knee before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

And now to him who is able to do far more abundantly all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Father, we ask that as we hold your hand in, your word in our hands today, that God, you would reveal your glory to us.

Maybe in a refreshed way, maybe in a new way, maybe in a corrective way, Lord.

If we need to be encouraged today, Lord, then encourage us.

If we need to be corrected today, Lord, then correct us by your word through the power of your spirit.

If, if, Lord, we need to be rebuked today, then Lord, do that work too, but not for us, but for your fame.

Father, if there's someone here today who's never trusted Jesus Christ, would they understand the reality of what Paul was talking about and how you changed him and used him for your glory?

So take your word and do through it what only you can do today in this place.

Would you give us ears to hear your word, minds to be able to comprehend it, but then, Lord, the faith.

The faith, God, to live out passionately for the fame of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And we pray in his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

You can take your seats.

Well, we want to dive into this whole idea of glory, your church, your purpose statement of your church.

I told you I snuck into this already.

I said the purpose of the church is the glory of God, right?

The purpose of your church is to glorify God through the fulfillment of the great commission in the spirit of the great commandment.

That's why you exist as a church.

That's why you're here today, to glorify God.

And we do that primarily through the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment, the love of Christ.

That's what the purpose of the church is, but I don't want you to come to church and go, well, that's for them.

It's not for me.

Your purpose is the same.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, the chief end of man, man's chief end, is to what?

To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

1 Corinthians in 1 Corinthians uh where is that found?

1 Corinthians 10 31 it says, so whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Your job, to the glory of God, uh the house you live in, to the glory of God, raising your kids, to the glory of God.

And whatever your thing is, to the glory of God.

Well, what does it mean to glorify God?

Well, it means to extol him, to lift him up, to be putting him on the pedestal, not self on the pedestal, not spouse on the pedestal, him on the pedestal in his holiness, his faithfulness, his mercy, his grace.

We could just do a message on the attributes of God and go now.

Get that focused just every day.

Focus on that a little bit more, on the glory of God.

As I went through this text, I picked out seven things.

You're like, seven things?

Pastor, we're gonna be here all day.

No, don't worry, we're not gonna be here all day.

But I got seven things I want you to see and understand that will help you to fix your eyes upward to the glory of God.

So if we're gonna be people of God who live on purpose, living for our purpose, here's the first thing.

Uh we need to be understand the value of the gift.

If you're going to live on purpose for God, you have to understand the value of the gift.

In verse 7, it says, Of this gospel, I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the work of his power.

Uh Paul here talks about being a minister, meant to be a servant.

It meant literally meant to be a table server.

Um calls himself a servant.

A minister.

But then he goes on, it talks about the gift of God's grace.

If you're ever going to get your focus in the right direction, you have to come back to the foundational work of the grace of God in your life.

You have to come back to, oh my goodness.

I remember the day God's spirit broke through in my life, and I understood I was a wretched mess, and God's grace came down, and He worked in my life.

And through the grace of God, you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

Many of you can remember that day.

You understand the truth about what that means.

Hey, every day before you get out of bed, before your feet hit the floor, you need to stop and think about God's grace and understand the value of the gift that God gave you in Jesus Christ.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

There is none righteous, no, not one.

But God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

That was our condition.

Messed up people with no hope.

And God's gift of grace came down in Jesus Christ, and he paid the price you couldn't pay, so you could have a salvation you couldn't earn and you didn't deserve.

That's an awesome work of God, right?

That's what God did for you.

See, that's the foundation.

Paul comes back to that foundation in his life.

He calls it right in the text, he calls it the gift of God's grace.

The gift of God's grace.

And when you get that right, then doing things for Christ and the way you live is not just getting stuff off of a checklist.

I gotta do this check, I gotta do this check, I got the church check, I set up for worship check, we helped tear down check.

It's about the glory of God, coming out of the gracious work of God for your salvation.

I was eight years old when I trusted Christ.

Um of you were older in life when you trusted Christ.

But you came to that crossroads in your life where you knew that you had to make a profession of faith, you had to trust Jesus Christ, and you did.

We live our lives out of that, out of God's redeeming work.

The whole Bible, from Genesis right through to Revelation, is pointing us to the work of Jesus Christ and what he accomplished.

And so, hey, if you're here today and you've never trusted Christ, if this is the first time you've heard this, then you're gonna have to work all this through to understand who this Jesus was.

But if you've been coming to church and you've been thinking about these things, it's Christianity is not a religion of checklists, it's not a it's not a way I just gotta do my works to please God.

God did everything for us and he offered you this gift called salvation.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved.

What do you mean?

I don't have to work for it, I don't have to earn it, I don't have to deserve it.

You can't earn it, you don't deserve it.

It's a gift.

Paul calls it a gift of God's grace.

You see, when you get the foundation right, when you understand the value of the gift, and you get your focus back on look what Jesus did for me, look what Jesus did for me, look what Christ did for me.

And then we get the glory part because our eyes get then fixed on Him.

So that's the first thing.

To live on purpose, I understand the value of the gift.

Here's the second thing to live on purpose, understand our position, or understand my position.

And this brings us to humility and also to responsibility.

Here's my position in Christ.

Look at verse 8.

Paul says, To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Paul understands he never forgets that he once was a persecutor of Christ and a persecutor of the church.

He says, I am the very least of all of the saints.

I didn't earn this, I don't deserve this, and as a result of this, I will humbly serve my Lord.

I will humbly exalt him, I'll humbly put him on the throne.

I'll desire what he has, not what I have, not my thoughts, not my ways, but his ways, so that I can preach the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ.

Understand your position.

Understand your position.

Now that runs in the face of everything you see, all of the rest of your life.

The rest of your life says you put you on the throne, you make sure you're in first place, you make sure you get what you need in life.

And Paul said, I'm setting that all aside.

I'm setting it all aside.

After he trusted Christ, he spent most of the rest of his life in prison or in some sort of prison.

And uh and God worked through him powerfully.

We're gonna see that as we go on through the message.

If I'm gonna live on purpose with my eyes focused on Jesus Christ, first of all, I understand the value of the gift, and then I understand my position under and in Jesus Christ and the amazing privilege that I have to preach the unsearchable, the unsearchable riches of Christ.

That just literally means it's too much for me to fathom.

He was like, pinch me every day.

See, I've seen that in my own ministry life as God has worked.

And uh, we came to Harvest York region um just 11 years ago, right?

And uh and saw what God would do.

And we used to meet in a school like this.

I wasn't the pastor in the school like this very long, and then God gave us a building and God grew his church, and God and the lots of days I wake up and says, Pinch me, Lord, like I can't believe what you've done.

But I've got to be driven back all the time.

And I didn't do it, and God did it, I didn't do it, the Lord did it, and and he works, and and we have the privilege to communicate this unsearchable riches that God has given us when we when we do that, when we get that right, we get our eyes focused on the Lord, the value of the gift, our position.

Here's the third thing living on purpose.

I understand the importance of the message.

I understand the importance of this message.

Look at verse 9.

And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.

He understood that this message was the critical mass.

He understood this was the most important thing.

It's not one way of many ways.

It's not, well, yeah, if we get around to it, I got enough time in my life.

He understood if he didn't tell people about Christ, they wouldn't know about Christ.

He understood if he didn't proclaim what Jesus said when Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except by me.

See, he understood that.

He understood that he was the vessel that God was using, but that this message that he had, and it was so important and so critical, he wanted everyone he could know to have this message so they could know Christ as well.

If I'm a person living vertically on purpose, I understand how important that message is.

And how if people don't hear the message, they'll never know Jesus Christ.

I gotta tell you, I'm blown away that God has chosen to use us as the vessels by which the gospel is proclaimed.

People come to know Christ in different ways.

You hear stories about people around the world, and there's a vision they have, and they come to know Christ that way.

But that's the one in a million story.

The other 9999999 is us.

And God uses us.

We're called His ambassadors in 1 Corinthians, as though God was making his appeal through us.

And he does.

And Paul understood this amazing gift that God has given, this amazing work that God has given.

He understood that he had a part in this, and we need to understand that we have a part in this message that God has given.

When you think about your life on purpose, maybe your grandparent, we have uh five grandchildren, a sixth one on the way.

Um we get to leave them and go home.

We were babysitting in Burlington last night until some re ridiculous hour and then drove home, but we didn't have to stay.

We pray for those kids every day that they'll trust Jesus Christ.

Every day.

This is the unsearchable message that we have.

So if you're here and you're a parent, you pray for your kids.

See, I think sometimes we get caught up in the we go, you know, I'm praying for my kids because they don't understand math, or I want them to go to a good university, or I want them to be a hockey player so they can take care of me in my retirement, or whatever your thing is for your kids, and you're not praying about the things that's the most important thing in their life.

Who cares if they play hockey?

Who cares if they know how to play the violin?

Who cares if they can add?

If they don't know Jesus Christ, they don't have anything.

This is the unsearchable, the unsearchable message that we have.

It's an important message that we have.

And his light, his desire was to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of this mystery.

The plan of this mystery that began in creation and the and in the fall of man, and God provides, and and then and then the law comes, and then Christ comes to fulfill the law, and and he dies and he's buried, and he rises, roses again, and and now he's making intercession for those who are followers of Christ on the right hand of God.

And see, Paul was getting it.

I understand the importance of this message.

He says in verse 10, so that the through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

Paul had a desire to live on purpose.

He understood that this foundational message of Jesus Christ had to be the center focal point of his life.

In reality, I know the right Sunday school answer is Jesus.

Jesus.

In reality, in your life, is he the center focal point?

Is he your purpose?

Is he your purpose?

Paul understood that.

He understood the importance of this message.

Here's the fourth thing.

See, I told you we were gonna get through these.

Here's the fourth thing.

To live on purpose, I have to understand the big picture.

If I'm gonna live on purpose, if I'm gonna get my eyes fixed on the glory of God, I've got to get my eyes beyond the purpose of the things of today.

The job, the family, the school my kids are gonna go to, where we're gonna live.

All important things, but not the important thing.

Look at verses 11 and 12.

He says, This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him, according to the eternal purpose of God.

That's getting your eyes onto the big, big picture.

God just help me a little bit more every day to get my eyes fixed off my own selfishness, my own desires, my own pride, and get my eyes fixed on what is eternal, what matters.

Psalm 23, David's Psalm, it finishes with, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Okay, so if you're young, and most people in the room are young compared to me, and uh I hit the big six-o this year.

I don't feel like I'm 60 until I try and move in the morning, and that's like, oh man, stuff starting to happen.

To me, that I never knew happened.

I heard in places I didn't even know I owned before, right?

So so I get it.

As you get a little bit older, you start to look a little differently at things, but we all need to have an eternal purpose.

We all need to have an eternal vision.

We all need to be looking at, it's not about this world right now.

See, I believe people who have a right eternal purpose, well, this these things will get taken care of.

You'll do the right things, you'll have the right priorities, but you'll do them because you have your eyes set on eternity.

See, when your eyes are set on eternity, your passion for a job is so that you can serve the Lord.

When your eyes are set on eternity, your passion in your marriage is that you can honor Christ, and your marriage can make a picture of what Christ and what the Bible says to be of Christ in the church.

We get an eternal picture.

And God help us as help Paul to see that big picture, getting our eyes out of the, oh my goodness, it's Monday.

Can I make it to Tuesday?

And get our eyes out of that and start looking at this is for God's glory.

This is for what's coming.

This is for all that we have.

We've got our eyes so fixed on this 70, 80 years, and we've lost sight of the rest of it and eternity and what God's called us to, and who's going with us.

Paul had an understanding of not only the importance of the message, but understanding the big picture.

It says, through faith in him.

Through faith in him.

Look at those verses again, verses 11 and 12.

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

When you put your trust in Christ, you have access to the throne room of God.

That's an amazing truth that we don't lean on like we should as followers of Jesus Christ.

Look at the words that it says about the access that we have with Him.

We can come with boldness and with confidence.

When I get my perspective right on God and His glory, I understand that I come to God with boldness and confidence.

Why?

Because of who Jesus Christ is.

Because He makes the way.

He's the one making intercession for me before the Father right now.

Romans 8 says, He's the one, the Spirit of God making groaning on my behalf, and I don't even know what to pray.

But I come with boldness and access to him.

The door of access is open for you to talk to God and to come with boldness, not with arrogance, but with boldness.

And so I can pray with confidence.

I love to think about that.

I don't deserve that access.

I don't deserve that boldness to be able to come.

In Isaiah 6, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is filled with his glory.

And Isaiah sees us and he falls on his face.

He understands he's a sinner.

I'm a man of unclean lips, he says, but but we come to God with boldness because of who Jesus Christ is, right?

It says, through faith, through our faith, through what Jesus Christ has accomplished.

And so when your eyes are fixed on God and his glory and your day is going sideways or things aren't working out like you hope they would, and you come to God with boldness and confidence, and you're like, Well, I can't do that, Pastor.

I can't do that.

Well, why can't you?

Well, because of some things in my life, I'm just not willing to surrender.

Well, you're right, you shouldn't be.

Your prayers are going like right here, and then they're stopping, right?

Um, and and um learning how we surrender ourselves to God's will for our lives, so he desires for us to come and he wants us to come.

But as a child of God, think about that.

As a child of God, God desires that you would come to him.

He gives you access and you come with boldness.

Not, hey dude, what's up?

But because of Jesus Christ, I enter the very throne room of God.

I cast my cares upon him.

Why?

Because he cares for me.

I say, search me, oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, see if there's any wicked way in me.

And I make my request known to him.

And I watch how God answers, and I'm not looking for my answers to my prayers, I'm looking for God's answers in my prayers.

See, that's what Paul was doing, that's what he was saying.

He says, he understood that big picture, and he understood that in this eternal purpose that he could come to God with a confidence and a boldness.

Now, there are some days that my confidence takes a hit.

You know, people say something to you, and you're like, oh my goodness, like your confidence with God never has to take a hit.

Because you don't go based on who you are, you go to God based on what Jesus Christ has done for you.

And so in this eternal picture, he says, I come with boldness and with confidence.

Here's the next thing.

Number five, to live on purpose.

I understand the struggle to remain faithful.

And nobody ever said this was going to be easy.

And he paints the picture for them in verse 13.

This was the don't lose heart, don't give up.

It's not going to be easy.

He says, so I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your victory.

Paul's in prison.

Paul doesn't have freedom.

And these people are watching him, and he's like, you go, you go, you go, you go for it.

You don't give up.

You don't pack it in.

You lean in when it's hard.

Because I'm leaning in when it's hard.

See, if we live on purpose, we understand the big picture, and that helps us to remain faithful when we want to quit, when we think it's too difficult, when we don't know if we're going to do it again.

The middle of July, I had a heart attack.

And uh God was so gracious to me through that whole story, what God did.

It's just an amazing story of God's grace.

I from the time I had my heart attack till I was up here in the hospital in Newmarket, and the stent put in and the work was done, it was like two hours.

It was unbelievable what God did.

And the recovery was beyond what I ever imagined.

But I gotta tell you, I went through some time.

Like I will I ever preach again?

Will I ever be the pastor of our church again?

Is this is my time in this role done?

Right?

And uh and I had to get to the point of understanding that God wouldn't love me any less if I never preached ever again.

And he wouldn't love me anymore if I did.

Because his love doesn't change for us.

I believe Paul understood that.

He's in prison, he's not out doing the work he thought he was going to be doing, and yet God is working, so I ask you not to lose heart.

And so when you watch people around you and they're struggling, or you're struggling in your own walk.

See, Paul says, like, don't lose heart, because this is for your glory.

For your glory.

So while Paul is in prison during that whole time in his life, he writes the book of Ephesians, he writes the book of Colossians, he writes the book of Philippians, he writes the book of Philemon, hasn't done Romans yet, but Romans will come for your glory.

If Paul wasn't in prison, we wouldn't have like half of the New Testament.

And we get in our thing, well, that poor sucker, like a guy who never got out of prison, he spent the rest of his life in the end.

Look what God did with it.

See, we get our eyes so fixed on what we think is our plan and how God wants to manipulate things around.

And this guy who didn't have internet, didn't have a cell phone, didn't have any way to communicate much with the outside world, God used him, and he gave us the very scripture we're talking about today.

For your glory.

For your glory.

And so when it's hard and you want to give up and you want to quit, you have no idea the work that God is doing, how lives are being changed through the work that you're doing.

Lean in, don't quit.

It won't be easy, but serve for God's glory.

Here's number six.

To live on purpose, I understand who is my source or who is our source.

Who is our source?

Where is our strength and confidence, our salvation, our sanctification?

He says in verse 14, for this reason I bow the knee.

Paul now starts to pray for them, and there's a prayer that he has for them.

We're gonna quickly look at it this morning, but he says, I bow the knee.

I bow the knee.

People who understand their purpose before God understand the need to bow the knee before Christ.

In the book of Philippians, it says, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Every knee?

That's what it says.

You mean my spouse who's just a little bit too proud sometimes, calls himself a Christian, but outlive it?

Every knee.

In my knee, every knee.

What about the person who's never trusted Christ?

Every knee.

Every knee will bow and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Those who are followers of Christ, praise the Lord.

That will move to, well done, good and faithful servant, come and enter into your rest.

But everyone one day will bow their knee to Jesus Christ.

And if you've never trusted Christ, the Bible makes it real clear you're gonna be separated from God for eternity in hell.

Every knee will bow.

I don't believe that.

I don't care.

It's what God's word says.

And you're gonna bow.

But as a follower of Christ, do you willingly bow your knee?

I'm not saying you have to get on your knee to pray.

I'm just saying, why don't you get on your knee when you pray?

When you pray, why don't you get down on your knees beside your bed first thing in the morning and before you get going on your day, bow the knee.

Because it helps you to understand who is the one in glory and who is the one who isn't in glory.

Maybe you need to lay out flat on the floor and cry out to God.

Yeah, but Paul, can't you can't you uh stand when you pray?

Yeah, you can.

Can't you sit when you pray?

Yeah, you can.

And that's not wrong.

But why don't you bow the knee?

See, I just see this as an expression.

That's why I do it every Sunday before I get up to preach.

Why?

So you can show off to the church.

So I can demonstrate we need to bow the knee before the one who is the creator, the sustainer, the giver of our salvation.

He says, I bow the knee.

If Paul thought it was important to bow the knee, then I'm gonna think it's probably pretty important that we think about our posture in prayer because it demonstrates your heart before God.

You can have a right heart while you're sitting, you can have a right heart while you're standing, you can have a wrong heart when you're on your knee.

But it demonstrates a posture before God.

He says, I bow my knee before the Father, from whom every family on heaven and earth is named.

He is the one who is the creator, he is the one who is the sustainer.

Then he goes on and he explains some of the things about the prayer according to the riches of his glory, that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being.

I'm not going to go into the work of the spirit today, but God's Spirit working in us.

And then in verse 17, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

John 14, 23 says, If anyone loves me, he'll keep my word, and my father will love him.

And even as Jesus promised, anyone loves me, he will keep my words.

And we make our home with him.

Says that Christ may dwell in your hearts.

We bow the knee because Christ dwells in our hearts.

That word dwell is not a picture of a rental situation.

It's not, oh, I found a place to live, we're going to be here until the lease runs out, and then we're going to move on.

It's the John on Psalm 23.

I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

And so as Paul is crying out to God as he's praying for them that Christ would dwell in their hearts, how through faith that they'd be rooted and grounded in their love.

The picture of rooted is a picture of a living tree which lays hold of the soil and twists its roots deep into the rocks and into the ground that cannot be upturned.

The word grounded is like the building that has the foundation solid and strong so that the winds come and the waves come.

It still stands.

That's the picture that he gives to people who are dwelling, being rooted and grounded.

Verse 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth.

When my eyes are fixed on the glory of God, I think about just how vast the work of Jesus Christ is for me.

The love of Jesus has breadth, breadth, and God's love is wide enough to include every single person.

The love of Jesus has length.

God's love is long enough to last through all eternity.

The love of Jesus has depth.

God's love is deep enough to reach the worst sinner.

And the love of Jesus has height, God's love is high enough to take us to heaven.

To know the love of Christ.

Paul wrote of something that we can know.

It's not a speculation, it's not guest work, it's not guesswork, it's not emotions or feelings.

This is something we can know and that you can be filled with the fullness of God.

And then here's the last thing.

So not only do we have this understand who the source is, because the source is Jesus Christ, that we here's the last thing we understand who is our resource.

We know he's the source, but let's look at the resource.

This is one of the great doxologies in Scripture, verses 20 and 21.

You've probably heard a pastor somewhere along the line close a service with it or read it, and here's how it goes.

But it's right in the middle of the book.

It's not really at the end at all.

It says, now to him who is able to do far more abundantly, far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.

To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

Okay, here's our resource, folks.

Here's how we do this.

You're not being asked to do this by yourself.

You're being asked to do this through faith in Christ in your salvation, through faith in Christ in your sanctification.

And then he goes on.

He finishes his prayer with this, now to him.

Now to him.

The first word is now.

It's not sometime down the road.

Sometime when I'm more mature in my spiritual walk, I'll kind of get this glory stuff figured out.

No, no, you live what you know right now.

As you hear this message, I'm coming back to this in just a moment.

What's the nugget?

What's the nugget of I haven't got my eyes fixed in the right direction?

I don't have my eyes fixed in the right direction as it relates to my spouse or to my job or to my family or to the way I serve in the church.

I don't have my eyes fixed in the right direction.

Now, he says.

And now to him.

Now to him, one, the one who is able.

Now to him who is able.

Well, the Bible says a lot of things about what God is able to do for us.

In Hebrews, it says he's able to save to the uttermost.

He's the one who completely saved you.

He's the help to those who are tempted, Hebrews 2.18.

He's the one who can is able to subdue all things unto himself.

He's the one who's able to deliver us from the fires of life.

He's the one who heals and sets us free.

He's the one who keeps us from falling, Luke 24.

And he's the one who can do exceedingly abundantly all above all that we ask or think, beyond measure, more abundantly, beyond what I ever dreamt.

When I preached about this text in our church, I talked about how our elders, once upon a time, a number of years ago, we were talking about the four pillars of our church.

And how we were doing at the four pillars, proclaiming the authority of God's word without apology, lifting high the name of Jesus in worship.

And we're like, here's how we're doing on this, and here's how we're doing this.

Um believing firmly in the power of prayer and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with boldness.

And we we thought, not that we'd we'd figured out the first two, but that's where most of the emphasis was.

And we said, we gotta do more in prayer.

We've got to be doing more in prayer.

And we started to pray, and God started to grow our church, and um, and God allowed us to do a church plant in Durham, and God's allowed our church to grow.

He's allowed us to be involved in different places around the world, and now he's allowed us to be involved with a church plant here, and and what's next, Lord, for our church?

What's next, Lord, for our church?

And uh I remember we prayed, Lord, would you give us 200 people?

And he did.

Lord, would you give us 400 people?

And he did.

Would you allow us to plant a church?

And he did.

Would you let us grow so that we have to have three services?

Oh my goodness, he did.

Plant another church, be involved around the world.

God will do immeasurably beyond what you can even think.

That's the one who we serve.

The God who blows away so many of the things.

So many of you have seen this in your own life.

You've been praying for your kids.

You wonder, are they ever going to get right with the Lord?

Are they ever gonna get right with the Lord?

Hey, as long as they have breath, there is hope.

And you trust the Lord and you be faithful and you do.

Why?

Because the one you're praying to is the one who is infinite in his ability.

He's the one who is infinite in his resource.

He can do beyond your wildest dreams.

More than you could ask for, more than you could even think about.

How?

Well, through his power.

Through his power, according to the power at work within us.

Anything that can be done, God can do.

If it can be done, God can do it.

And you have to set aside your agenda, you have to set aside what you think is the best plan, and you'll see one day how God's plan was perfect and how he worked these things for his glory.

When we understand these last verses of this scripture, now to him who is able to do far more abundantly, more than all we ask or think, according to the power of work within us.

To him be glory in the church and in Christ, in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

Amen.

We call it a doxology.

A doxology.

But a doxology lived out in your life.

Always, not sometimes, always leads to duty.

Doxology always leads to duty.

But it's not a duty for a checklist.

It's not, oh, I gotta do this this week, and I gotta do this this week.

Oh, I'm a small group.

Again, I gotta do this this week.

Doxology always, always, always leads to duty.

Why?

For the glory.

For the glory of God.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory.

Psalm 115, verse 1.

Psalms 115:1

As I finish up here, it is warning, warning, warning.

You put other things on the throne, you give other things the glory.

Isaiah 42.8 says, I am the Lord, that is my name.

My glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

And where does this happen?

As the body of Christ in the church, it says.

So the church isn't primarily about church growth.

It's not about discipleship, it's not about salvations, it's not about how many baptisms do we have, it's not about being a bigger church or more churches, it's about the glory of God.

And you get the glory right and you watch how God takes care of the rest.

You do the same thing in your life, you get the glory part right, and you watch how God takes care of the rest.

Well, so what?

So what?

The question for you today is what's the nugget for you out of this message?

There's a lot of things you've heard.

But as you think about your focus and the direction of your life, is it like this all the time?

Or is your focus towards the finished world?

Of Jesus Christ and living for his glory.

What's the nugget?

God's put something on your heart.

If you're a follower of Christ, if you are in Christ, there's something you heard today.

What will you do as a result of hearing God's word to be a man or a woman of God focused on the glory of God?

And maybe you're here today and the nugget you heard is, I need Jesus.

And today's the day I'm going to put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

In doing that, I'm going to demonstrate for God that I'm not about those things anymore.

I understand that's not satisfying to me.

I need Jesus, and then God gets the glory.

God help us to be people focused on the glory of God, every part of our life, more and more as we grow up in Him.